Xiaomi has launched the Redmi Y series of smartphones in India, leading to a crisp discussion on why the company chose to launch a new line of phones. Joining host Pranay Parab are Android enthusiasts Aditya Shenoy and Roydon Cerejo, who talk about the Redmi Y1 and the Redmi Y1 Lite smartphones. We start by talking about Xiaomi’s small number of launches so far and wonder whether the company is going to change that with its latest launch.

Then we move on to discuss who the Redmi Y series of phones is really for. This is where Roydon and Aditya talk about a couple of Xiaomi’s competitors in India and how the company is squarely targeting them with the launch of this smartphone. Then we talk about the primary focus of this series of smartphones — selfies — and why that is an important distinction in the Indian market. Next, we mention the difference between the Redmi 4A, the Redmi Note 4, and the Redmi Y line.

This where Aditya talks about MIUI 9 and what difference it makes to the experience on this line of Redmi phones. We talk about the software changes, the state of Android updates for Xiaomi phones, and of course, whether you should buy these smartphones in India. We used the smartphone for a short duration before recording this podcast, so the episode also describes how the phone feels and how it is different from other Xiaomi smartphones.

That’s all for this week’s episode of Orbital, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts or RSS, or just hit the play button below.